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In earlier series, there was a clock which everyone could see at first, but in later rounds only the viewers saw it. This was later changed so that no one would know how much time was on the clock whatsoever.

Contestants hoping to appear on the show would send a postcard. If it was chosen, they would get to play the game. The show selected home contestants to play from their living room, and studio contestants who played from an isolation booth with a telly screen on it. The contestant would see a series of numbered apple targets, each with a white dot in the middle, on the screen. They would choose one of them. Usually, there were four apple targets. Sometimes, however, there were more than four; in this case, one of them was a bonus apple, which if selected, would set a bell off, and win the contestant a £5 bonus. If the apple was hit, the contestant would be allowed to appear on the next show as a real contestant playing the game proper. If the white dot in the middle was hit, it was a bulls-eye, and the contestant would receive a bonus prize, as well as play the game proper for two weeks in a row. The contestants in this part of the show, however, didn't operate the crossbow themselves as in later rounds. Instead, they tried to direct a blindfolded cameraman to hit the apple within thirty seconds. The bolts were loaded by a man known as "Bernie the Bolt" ("Heinz the Bolt" at first). Failing to hit the correct apple or running out of time earned them a small consolation prize. Two home contestants and two studio contestants were selected each week.

Towards the end of the series, all contestants in this part of the show were studio contestants.

Starting here the contestants operated the crossbow themselves, trying to hit a standard crossbow archery target. Standard scoring rules apply here; usually, however, the target would be moving, and/or something would go over it. If the contestant missed the target, or hit the blockage by mistake, they would not score. If there was a tie for last place, the contestants who shot their targets faster would advance.

Each contestant had their own targets. Two contestants played at a time, trying to hit their targets within twenty seconds and the two contestants with the lowest scores would be eliminated, but would take home a slightly bigger consolation prize.

The surviving contestants operated a crossbow from a control column on a tele-cockpit; this was a remote controlled crossbow, because wherever the contestants moved the joy stick, the crossbow moved in that direction. They would play on a more difficult target, which awarded bonuses and penalties based on the rules. They would try and hit this target within thirty seconds. The contestant with the better score of the two would win a prize and advance to Part Three. The other contestant would be eliminated, but would take home a much bigger consolation prize.

The winner would face one more target which resembled half an apple. On this target, there was a thread which, if broken, won the contestant a jackpot that rolled over by £100 each week until won. To break the thread, the contestant had to shoot the bolt within the bulls-eye within twenty seconds. Failing to break the thread won nothing.

Later series had the winner playing against a returning champion from the previous week. They would try to hit the target using the remote controlled crossbow. If they both ran out of time, they would go back and forth, until at least one of them shot the target. The contestant would then attempt to hit a target resembling a sun (later an apple again) for the rolling jackpot.

After Round 1 (later 2) of the game proper, a celebrity guest performed a comedy routine for the audience, then would shoot at a special target with a spiral within thirty seconds, using the remote controlled crossbow. If they were successful, a viewer's postcard would be chosen based on a number where a chasing light landed. That viewer would then win £40 plus the value based on where the target was hit. This was later changed to the host drawing a postcard himself at random before the celebrity guest came out, and the viewer only won the money from the target. Finally, the guest would draw a postcard randomly after their performance.

After Round 1 of the game proper, and before the final target, a musical person would sing a song for the audience. Usually, the first performer would also be interviewed by the host after their song, while the second performer was introduced earlier in the show, and interviewed before they sang.